Kabwe municipal distances itself from illegal land allocation

Kabwe Mayor, Prince Chileshe, has distanced the local authority from the illegal allocation of residential plots at Kakumbi area.

Opening the Full Council Meeting at the Civic Centre this morning, Mr Chileshe said the local authority sympathizes with the 80 families whose houses were demolished by the Zambia Army in Kakumbi area but said the council had no hand in the allocation of the illegal plots.

The mayor said the affected families acquired land from bogus people who crafted documents purported to be from Kabwe Municipal Council (KMC) while in fact not.

“We know they are mourning the loss and we sympathize with them but we will not allow them to paint a perception that we encouraged people to build on the said land,” Mr Chileshe said.

He said the local authority will continue to do what is possible to restore sanity in land acquisition and appealed to Kabwe residents to follow the right process of acquiring land.

“As a responsible council we are going to interrogate this matter case-by-case with a view of lessening the burden on the affected families,” he said.

Kabwe Municipal Council came into the limelight two weeks ago after being accused of illegal land allocations when the Zambia Army swung into action and demolition houses built on its land in Kakumbi area.

Mr Chileshe has also urged the council staff to be upright when dealing with the acquisition of land in order to reduce issues of illegal land allocations.

The mayor has also warned council workers to stay away from partisan politics but to remain loyal to the system and the government in power.

He said the local authority will not hesitate to sanction any punitive measures on any officer found indulging in politics